


Big Bang Burger Bros

by babe-png (Ha_Xici)



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, also ren wears contacts in this that's probably important to know, burger dude's lettuce glasses are the secret to this, hit that subscribe button if y'all hongry for some burgers, i somehow wrote this in under 24 hours, it is NOT SMUT i promise u ajdiabdkjd, morgana's a great icebreaker, ren's a gremlin, so the title makes this sound like a smut fic apparently, there's a few implied relationships but they are Unimportant, theres no persona shit, this is just big bang burger babe-y
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-26 21:14:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16688947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ha_Xici/pseuds/babe-png
Summary: Ryuji's head over heels for a genius student in his psychology class, but unfortunately for Ryuji, said student happens to have the awareness of a ceramic plate. Simultaneously, Ryuji befriends the human equivalent of a garbage disposal during his graveyard shift at Big Bang Burger, and these two people happen to be significantly more related than Ryuji could've ever guessed them to be.





	Big Bang Burger Bros

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to the wonderful pegoryu server because this entire fic is based off the headcanons they made up last night <3

 

_What the hell?_

 

When Ryuji had gone to his graveyard shift at Big Bang Burger, he hadn’t been expecting anyone to come. Rarely anyone did. Normal people would be tucked away in their beds, sound asleep. If there was anything Ryuji knew about the graveyard shift, it was that the only people who ever come are students forcing themselves awake to finish homework or emotionally unstable and wanting to cry their tears into a burger.

 

Despite everything Ryuji knew about his job, the teen in front of him simply wouldn’t fit into these schemas.

 

“I’d like to try the Big Bang Burger challenge, please.”

 

_Dude, it’s 1 A.M., don’t you have better things to do?_

 

“... A-Are ya sure?” Ryuji weakly asked.

 

The noirette shook his head with determination. Despite the clear exhaustion in his eyes, there was a glint of confidence that reflected from them.

 

“ _Yes_.”

 

“... That’ll be 1,200 yen, please.” The teen practically slammed his money down on the counter. Ryuji carefully picked it up, putting it in the cash register. He was unable to keep his eyes off of the other, watching him fumble over to a booth and collapse in the seat. No matter how intriguing the customer was, Ryuji wasn’t getting paid to watch people and do absolutely nothing, so he reluctantly tore his eyes away and prepared the challenge.

 

When he finally walked over to the guy’s table, burger in hand, he wasn’t surprised to see flashcards and notes covering the entire place.

 

_So he IS a student._ Ryuji hummed to himself, raising his eyebrow at some of the names on the note cards. There was an awful lot of ink smudges and highlighter.

 

“Sir?” Ryuji asked, hoping to get his attention.

 

“ _Sigmund Freud can literally eat my ass,_ ” the guy whispered under his breath, voice seething with hatred.

 

Ryuji grimaced. Poor kid was also taking psychology. He sure as hell didn’t want to think about the test he had in that class tomorrow.

 

“Sir? _Sir?_ ” Ryuji was about to just set the food down on his notes, but the student suddenly snapped his head up, staring him dead in the eye.

 

The two made eye contact for an uncomfortably long amount of time before the other seemed to realize what the blonde was there for. “... Oh. Food.” the noirette mumbled. “Sorry.” Ryuji shook his head, allowing the other to clear off part of the table, before he set the tray down.

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Ryuji shrugged him off. Deciding it’d be weird to stick around, he sauntered off back behind the counter, when he was startled by an _ungodly_ noise. Ryuji whipped his head worriedly, searching for where the source of whatever kind of choking or possibly dinosaur noise was coming from.

 

Although in hindsight it was unsurprising, Ryuji still was decidedly unsettled by the sight of the noirette opening his mouth and practically _shoving_ the burger down his throat. It left Ryuji in both awe and completely unrivaled _disgust_. His mouth hung open, almost frightened by the speed at which the kid devoured the meal. By the end of it, there was a tiny bit of lettuce in the student’s unruly hair and a smudge of ketchup smeared across the corner of his lips. He leaned back for a moment, running his hand through his hair, seemingly deep in thought. His concentration faltered, and he turned to Ryuji. “Hey, dude?” he yelled, nodding as Ryuji shakily pointed his finger to himself, as if shakily asking who he was talking to. “What time does this place close?”

 

Ryuji, still aghast, had to take a moment to realize that the store was open 24/7. “... We don’t technically… close.” The student grimaced, appearing to have just realized that as well.

 

“... Thanks anyways.” he winced, decidedly pulling out his phone and messing with it. Ryuji, with nothing better to do, kept sneaking glances at him. Past the rat’s nest that seemed to make up his hair, the person in general looked as if he were ready to go to bed. His sweatpants had a few stains on them, his hoodie had a hole in the pocket, and the lenses of his glasses almost looked cloudy from how smudged they were. It was incomprehensible to Ryuji as to how the noirette was still awake.

 

As if the customer actually heard Ryuji’s inner dialogue, he suddenly shoved his phone into his pocket and slammed his head on the table. Ryuji jumped at the bang it made, clutching his heart. “ _Fucking god…_ ” Ryuji hissed through his teeth. He felt like he was about to have a heart attack, and it was definitely _way too early in the morning to deal with these kinds of surprises_. Fortunately for him, the greasy head of hair stayed dead still for the rest of Ryuji’s shift.

 

Ryuji let out a sigh of relief as the clock’s hand hit 4. “Time to cram study...” Ryuji grumbled to himself, pivoting around to get ready to leave, when the god-awful, full volume shriek of an iPhone alarm sang throughout the restaurant. The terrifying hamburger-eating man’s body nearly fell off the bench in surprise. He shot his head up, looking around wildly, before shoving his hand into his pocket and turning off the alarm. Ryuji quietly wheezed at the dazed expression on the other’s face. The noirette slowly turned to look at the notes on his table, and if Ryuji let out an ugly hyena laugh at the strong and vibrant “ _Fuck_ ” the other let out, then the noirette sure as hell didn’t comment on it.

 

* * *

 

“Heyyyy, loverboy, did you hear what score Amamiya got on the psychology exam?” Ann casually plopped down in her seat, twisting around in it to face Ryuji.

 

Ryuji glanced up at Ann curiously, despite glaring at the awful nickname. “He got a _99! This kid is ridiculous!_ ” Ann groaned, rubbing her face with her hands. “God, it’s no wonder he and the president are always hanging out; his scores are unfairly good!” Ann sat down in her seat with a huff, neatly folding her arms over her chest.

 

A smug grin crossed Ryuji’s lips. “Sounds like somebody’s jealous they aren’t smart enough to hang with Nijima~” he teased, wheezing when Ann pushed his face away.

 

“Screw you!” she yelped. Her angry expression was sabotaged by the blush covering her face. Ryuji continued to laugh, clutching his stomach.

 

“C’mon, just face it Ann; no second year can beat Amamiya when it comes to grades. He has the power of Nijima _and_ anime on his side!” Ann cackled at that, hiding her snorts behind her hand. It was no secret that every second year in Shujin had intense feelings towards Amamiya Ren; from jealousy to admiration, hatred to affection, everyone felt _something_ towards the supposed “delinquent” boy from the countryside.

 

No one had wanted anything to do with him at first; in fact, when he walked down the hallways, people would _leave_ the area. Despite this, he always held his head high, and while Ryuji could never say when he actually realized he liked the transfer student, he could definitely say that it was due to this nonchalant confidence that Ryuji suddenly found himself head over heels for him.

 

He wouldn’t ever tell him, though.

 

“Speak of the devil, there he is!” Ann suddenly whispered, grabbing his arm and pointing _extremely unsubtlely_ at Amamiya walking through the door. “There he is, that stupid, gorgeous bastard.” Ann wheezed, slapping Ryuji’s arm. Ryuji hushed her, smacking her shoulder. Ann smacked his shoulder back. Ann narrowed her eyes at Amamiya, very aggressively staring at his hair. Ryuji grimaced when Ann suddenly shot up out of her seat, quickly pulling her back by her arm.

 

“Ann?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“What the eff are ya doin?”

 

Ann shot him a look. “I need to know what conditioner he uses.” she stated, as if Ryuji was supposed to know what she was doing. Ann tugged her arm out of his grip, ignoring Ryuji’s very painful whisper-yelling. “ _Ann! Ann! What the hell are ya doin class is about to start!”_

 

Ann strolled over to Amamiya, politely tapping him on his shoulder. The boy looked up at her, blinking in surprise. The two stared at each other, Amamiya looking rather uncomfortable under Ann’s piercing gaze. “... Do you need something?” he eventually asked, playing with a few strands of his hair. Ryuji observed them carefully, inwardly giggling at Amamiya’s nervous tic.

 

“What conditioner do you use? Your hair looks soft and shiny yet somehow _not_ greasy! I’m literally begging you to tell me!” Ann pleaded, clasping her hands together in desperation. The noirette stared at her, a little surprised. Ryuji couldn’t lie; the face he was making was _really cute_.

 

“I… Don’t really remember the brand’s name,” the other admitted, tilting his head to the side. _Oh fuck that was kinda cute._ “I recognize it by what the tube looks like.” Ann pouted, jutting out her lower lip.

 

“Ughhh, thanks anyways.” she mumbled disappointedly. She perked her head up thought, grinning. “If you happen to remember, _please_ tell me!” she tacked on, giving a small nod of her head before scampering back to her seat. The bell rang, and the teacher walked into the classroom, clearing their throat and beginning the lesson. Amamiya continued to stare at Ann, seemingly still in a bit of surprise at the random conversation, before his eyes trailed over to Ryuji. The moment they made eye contact, Ryuji stiffened, gripping the edges of his seat tightly. _Oh FUCK he’s staring at me what am I supposed to do?_

 

Ryuji’s mind was running a mile a minute as Amamiya scanned his face, seemingly searching for something. Ryuji’s heart nearly stopped when Amamiya’s eyes crinkled up and he gave Ryuji a small smile, nodding at him. Despite lasting only a second, to Ryuji it felt like eternity, and his heart slowly started beating again when Amamiya turned to face the front of the classroom. Ryuji weakly let go of his chair, letting his body relax, and let out a shaky exhale.

 

_He was completely and utterly gone for this kid._

 

* * *

 

It had been a week since Ryuji had last seen the mysterious, greasy man, and Ryuji wasn’t really sure _why_ he was still thinking about him. Ryuji paused his task, noticing he was wiping down the table the guy had sat at. Was it the mayonnaise he was almost one-hundred percent sure he saw on the rim of his glasses? Was it the oddly organized notes that seemed like a direct parallel to the dude’s personality?

 

Ryuji stretched to reach the corner of the table, aggressively scrubbing it. It definitely wasn’t those horrendous sweatpants, that was for sure. So then maybe it was…?

 

Ryuji stood up, rolling out his shoulders. Racking his brain for memories of the night, Ryuji searched for what it could’ve been. If not the clothes, then… maybe it was how soft and delicate his eyelashes had been? Maybe it was how, if the guy had actually showered, the man would’ve probably had really soft hair?

 

Ryuji then chuckled, slapping his knee in realization. “Yeah, no; it’s definitely that ‘fuck’ he said,” Ryuji wheezed, moving on to the next table. He plopped his rag down, slowly wiping circles into the table. There was an awful lot of crumbs here, so much so that Ryuji winced when they almost poured off the side of table. “... I should clean that up.”

 

The door swung open, and Ryuji whipped his head to face it. “Ah, good evening, sir, welcome to Big Bang BURGER DUDE YOU’RE BACK!” he yelped, stumbling backwards. The greasy man in question grunted in response.

 

The noirette gestured at Ryuji and then back at himself, struggling to find words. “...Want a burger. But uh, cat…?” The kid reached behind his glasses to rub his eyes, sneezing. “My cat. My motherfucker cat. Can he be in here?”

 

Ryuji made a face. _Technically,_ he wasn’t supposed to, but _technically,_ Ryuji could also just spray down the booth extra hard after the guy was done… Ryuji suddenly backtracked, shooting a look at the guy. “You have a cat? _Where?”_ he asked, jaw dropping in disbelief. His ketchup-stained hoodie pocket was _way too small_ to fit a cat in there, and his somehow clean school bag was way too small to keep anything _but_ notebooks in there.

 

Or maybe Ryuji was wrong, because the customer quickly shuffled over to Ryuji, opening his school bag so delicately it looked like he was about to offer Ryuji LSD. “Hey Mona. Morgana. _Motherfucker. Wake up._ ” the noirette whispered, reaching down into his book bag and poking something. The small head of a cat slowly nosed out of the bag’s opening, sleepily blinking its eyes open. “Morgana” looked up at the guy’s greasy glasses, asking a quiet “purrow?” Ryuji’s hands flew to his mouth, trying to hide the tiny squeal he just let out.

 

“ _Dude. Your cat. He’s so effin’ cute._ ” Ryuji aggressively whispered, feeling his heart clench.

 

The guy nodded fondly, scratching under Morgana’s collar. “ _He’s a little bitch and I love him._ ” he whispered back, smiling. His smile dropped them, replaced by a flooding exhaustion. “So I can keep him here?”

 

If Ryuji was being honest, the guy looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown. “...Lemme ask my manager.” he offered, quickly going behind the counter to find her. It took a bit of convincing, but Ryuji was proud to come back out and offer him a thumbs up. Burger dude’s eyes were red, but Ryuji was smart enough to not make a comment on it. He didn’t even know the guy anyways.

 

“So,” Ryuji placed himself behind the register, “What would you like to order, sir?”

 

Burger dude grimaced. “Would you happen to be selling the secrets to holding all knowledge in the universe?”

 

“... We got burgers?”

 

Burger guy shoved his hand into his pocket, slapping 2,000 yen down on the counter. “Good enough! Keep the tip!”

 

Ryuji was grateful, but nonetheless, the guy hadn’t actually specified what he wanted. “Sir... What burger would you like?” Burger dude blinked at him confusedly, until his eyes widened in realization. He coughed into his sleeve, trying to hide his blush.

 

“... One Big Bang Burger, please.”

 

Ryuji chuckled. “Comin’ right up!”

 

Burger dude, satisfied, stumbled over to the table he sat at last time. He narrowed his eyes at it, making Ryuji wonder if the guy was asking himself where he sat the last time. “Yo, dude- _sir_ , I’m not a mindreader or anythin’, but if you’re wonderin’ which table you sat at last time, that’s the one.” he called, pulling out a food tray. Burger dude shot him a grateful look, gently setting his book bag down in the booth and then plopping down next to it. Ignoring the distressed meows from his cat, he reached into his bag and dumped out a _giant_ binder on the table, flipping it open.

 

Ryuji, finished assembling his meal, set down the tray and stalked off behind the counter. Burger dude scoffed it down, just as disgustingly as Ryuji last remembered him doing so, and promptly laid his head on the table and fell asleep. Ryuji raised an eyebrow, realizing the kid hadn't set an alarm this time. Then again, it'd be weird if Ryuji just randomly walked up to him and said "Hey, my dude! I remember the last time you visited here in vivid detail and realized you didn't set your alarm! Haha, funny, right?" Even Ryuji, as friendly as he was, would've been a little put off.

 

Ryuji was beginning to doubt that past sentiment, however, when his shift ended and the noirette was still dead to the world on his table. It  _really_ wasn't any of Ryuji's business, and he should just leave the guy to his own devices. It's not  _Ryuji's_ fault that he didn't set his alarm. It wouldn't be  _Ryuji's_ fault if the guy was late for school.

 

Ryuji squirmed uncomfortably from where he stood, unable to bring himself to just leave him there. He hardly even noticed his manager by him until she put her hand on his shoulder. "Sakamoto?" she asked. "May you please wake up that man over there?" She gave him a small smile. "And feel free to leave as soon as you do."

 

Ryuji nodded gratefully, forcing his feet to move over to the other. The blonde stopped about a foot away from him, staring at the noirette nervously.  _God, there's still lettuce on his glasses. Ew._ There was absolutely nothing charming about it.

 

... But at the same time, Ryuji could really get a good look at the guy's face. He  _did_ seem to have really long eyelashes, and if you looked past the ketchup, burger dude's skin actually looked fairly well taken care of. Ryuji then realized what he was doing was creepy, and forced himself to stop.

 

Unsure what the polite thing to do in this situation would be, Ryuji jabbed the guy in the shoulder. "Yo, dude? Wakey-wakey?" he tried, jabbing him again. No response.

 

Ryuji scratched the back of his head, racking his brain for any ideas. Pouring water on burger dude was  _absolutely out of the question_ , and poking the guy's face or shaking his shoulders both seemed like options that would get him punched in his own face.

 

Ryuji had a broom.

 

Ryuji sprinted off to the supply closet, hastily grabbing the broom and cautiously making his way back to burger dude, who was snoring away. Which could've been charming under other circumstances.

 

Ryuji gently poked the guy with the edge of the broom. "Yo. Burger dude." Ryuji winced, poking him again. "Please, man, just effin' wake up already!" he practically begged, but froze when he remembered the cat in the bag.  _That'll work perfectly!_

 

Carefully reaching under the table, Ryuji carefully poked burger dude's book bag, praying he'd be able to wake the cat up. What the hell was it's name again? He distantly remembered the noirette calling it "motherfucker" at some point, so Ryuji would simply have to make do.

 

" _Oi. Motherfucker._ " Ryuji whispered, poking the bag a bit more aggressively. "C'mon. Wake up." The bag moved a bit, shaking, and Ryuji quickly bolted away, hiding behind the counter.

He couldn't actually see what happened next, but he was almost one hundred percent positive he heard the cat jump out of the bag and land on his owner's head. Something fell onto the floor, and Ryuji presumed it was burger dude who made the hideous half-grunt half-snort noise. "Oh, fuck- Mona! You motherfucker!" burger dude cried. Ryuji had to hide his laughter at that, clamping his mouth shut. "God, what time even is-  _oh my God Morgana we need to go NOW."_

 

Burger dude supposedly shoved all of his stuff into the bag, scurrying out the door, and only then did Ryuji stand back up. He was relieved to see not a single burger dude in sight. Ryuji stretched out his arms, yawning. "Man," he mumbled to himself, "I can't wait to go and asleep tonight..."

 

* * *

 

 

“...Ryuji? _Ryuji? Helloooo?_ ”

 

Ryuji snorted, snapping his head up from his desk. “Wh-Wha- Ann?” he asked, wiping away some drool from the corner of his mouth. “ _Shit_ ; did I fall asleep again?” he asked, wincing. No matter how grateful he was for the part-time job opportunity, the graveyard shift was absolutely _merciless_ on his sleep schedule. It was a month and a half into the school year, and Ryuji had already gotten in trouble multiple times for falling asleep during class. It was extra embarrassing whenever he’d get sent outside and have to feel Amamiya’s sympathetic gaze following him out, burning into his back. It was almost… shameful.

 

Ann groaned, ruffling his hair with her hands. “Ryu,” she began, Ryuji already bracing himself for the lecture he was gonna get, “I know you wanted to be able to support your mom and everything, but…” Her voice trailed off, and Ryuji blinked in surprise. Ann, confident, determined, and honest Ann, seemed at a loss for words. She was unable to look him in the eye, and she kept rubbing her arm.

 

“I… I wanna be happy for you, but… is this really worth it? You and I _know_ Kamoshida will-” Ann suddenly snapped her mouth shut, bright blue eyes fading into a dull gray. “I don’t want you getting expelled, Ryu.” she mumbled, sullenly looking down at her hands. “Shiho’s looking worse and worse, Kamoshida won’t stop calling me, and you aren’t getting enough sleep, and-and-” Ryuji quietly shushed her, grabbing her hands with his.

 

“Ann. Ann. Look at me. _Shiho’s still playing volleyball, you still haven’t given into him, and I’m still passing with decent grades, okay?_ ” he murmured, hoping to soothe her with his words. He was clearly doing a shitty job of it, judging by the tears starting to form in Ann’s eyes.

 

“Yeah, but for how long, Ryuji? How long is this gonna-” The bell rang, deafening Ann’s despair with a mockingly soothing call. Students got up from their seats, happily chattering with each other and tittering with delight as they left to their lockers, a strong majority ready to go home. Ann sighed, fatigue clear in her voice. “...I’m gonna watch Shiho practice.” she muttered, pushing herself out of her chair. “Good luck studying. I… I was too distracted to take notes today. You should probably take them out of the book tonight.” Ann bowed her head, apologizing. Without any other words, Ann slung her bag over her shoulder and exited the classroom, Ryuji unable to find the words to call out to her.

 

He moaned, allowing his head to flop back down onto the desk. Had he been a first year, he’d been sprinting to get ready for track practice, but now…

 

Ryuji hardly even noticed the quiet footsteps that stopped by his side. “Sakamoto…?” Ryuji grunted, leaning his head to the side. He was ready to give a thing or two to whoever decided to interrupt his self-pity session, but practically yelped to see Amamiya’s worried face looking down at him. “Not to sound rude but you… didn’t take notes today, did you?” he asked, once again reaching up to play with his hair. Ryuji would’ve found it cuter had he not been so depressed.

 

“Well, I… I-I… No, not really…” Ryuji stuttered, tearing his eyes away from Amamiya’s. “What’s it to ya?” Despite Amamiya’s discomfort, for some reason Ryuji’s hostility didn’t phase him.

 

“Well, I was going to ask if you’d like me to study with me, seeing as I don’t have any extracurriculars today, but if you believe you’ll do fine on your own, I’ll leave you be.” Amamiya replied calmly, raising an eyebrow. Ryuji practically knocked over his desk in delight.

 

“W-Wait, really!?” he shrieked, grabbing Amamiya by his shoulders. “I can use your notes an’ everythin’!?” Amamiya shrinked back from his intense gaze.

 

“If we’re studying together, yes, you can?” he offered, tightening his grip on his book bag. “I don’t see why not?”

 

Ryuji felt so elevated he could practically kiss him. “ _Please tell me this is more than a one-time offer.”_ he begged, shaking the poor student by his shoulders. If Amamiya had glasses, they would’ve flown off his face due to Ryuji’s strength.

 

“I-If you promise to s-stop shaking me-” Ryuji immediately let go, a little embarrassed to see how dazed Amamiya looked from it, “Then yes. I’m almost always free on Fridays.”

 

“My dude. My guy. My pal. _I will die for you_.” Ryuji whispered, grinning when Amamiya laughed.

 

“I’m not a genius or anything, but I don’t mind lending a helping hand. C’mon, we can study at the cafe I live at. It’s a good study area.” Amamiya offered, beginning to walk out of the classroom. Ryuji whooped, carelessly slinging his bag over his shoulder and excitedly bounding next to his side.

 

“Lead the way!”

 

* * *

 

The door swung open, and Ryuji’s bored countenance tugged into a grin as a familiar head of shaggy, disastrous hair slid into his peripheral. “Yoooo, burger dude, back again?” he cheered, fist-bumping the noirette at the register. The man in question shot him a lazy smirk.

 

“There’s no rest for the wicked, Sakamoto.” Ryuji howled at that, slapping his thigh.

 

“No effin’ kiddin! I got a test tomorrow too. What subject this time?”

 

Burger dude groaned, throwing half of his body on the counter. “Physioanatomy. _Again._ I’m sorry, but I hardly give a single shit about the lobes of the head. Is it planes? Ugh, who _cares_.” Set off on a tangent, the student began to rant about his physioanatomy class, something Ryuji had come to know an awful lot about over the course of the past three months.

 

Every Monday and Wednesday without fail, burger dude would come into Big Bang Burger at midnight, would choke down a burger, and sleep until 4 A.M., right when Ryuji would end his shift. First beginning with an awkward sort of acquaintanceship, the two quickly evolved into friends when they realized they both had a psychology class. Somehow their test dates had ended up on the same days, so burger dude’s naps eventually turned into study sessions with Ryuji. Ryuji had grown remarkably comfortable with this routine despite not even knowing burger’s dude name, and was almost surprised to find that he had begun looking forward to his shifts just to see that greasy head of hair and ugly looking sweatpants.

 

“Oh! That reminds me!” Burger dude suddenly exclaimed, startling Ryuji out of his reminiscing. “Remember those minion crocs I told you about?” Ryuji grimaced. How could he forget those _god awful_ things?

 

“The hideous ones you showed me a photo of? Bro, that image is burned into my retinas.” Ryuji grumbled, his response encouraging the devilish delight in burger dude’s eyes. Even his dirty lettuce glasses couldn’t hide the chaotic evil behind them.

 

Burger guy suddenly stretched his leg up into the air, holding his foot, and there, nestled as comfortably as Cinderella’s glass slipper, was a _disgusting_ minion croc in the flesh. “YOU BOUGHT THEM!?” Ryuji groaned, slapping his forehead.

 

Burger dude tutted. “I’ll have you know I _love_ fashion. Beauty is worth the cost.”

 

Ryuji shot him a dry look. “You have soy sauce stains on your thighs, and you have sequins glued to your face.” he pointed out, chuckling when burger dude slapped a hand to his cheek, scowling when a few sequins came off with it.

 

“Irrelevant!” he decided, dusting the sequins off his hand. “Anyways, I hate physioanatomy, and I want to drown my sorrows in food. Gimme the Gravity Burger Challenge.” At that, Ryuji’s eyes widened.

 

“Okay, dude, I know you’re like, the human equivalent of a dumpster when it comes to consuming food, but ya gotta stop stress eatin-” Burger dude slammed down 5,000 yen on the table, staring Ryuji dead in the eye.

 

“Give me the challenge and the rest is yours.” he deadpanned. Ryuji glanced back and forth between the circles under burger dude’s eyes and the extra 3,500 yen, and slowly, Ryuji covered the yen with his hand and delicately dragged it to the cash register.

 

“...Gimme a moment and your order will be ready, sir.”

 

Burger dude practically yodeled with delight at that, opening his schoolbag and grinning excitedly. “ _Mona. Mona. You sleepy loaf, I’m gonna have the cosmo burger, are you proud of me?”_ A very tired “purrow?” came out of the bag, and burger dude cackled, rubbing his hands together. “Food coma here we come!”

 

Ryuji wheezed, coming out from behind the counter and over to burger dude’s usual table. “Dude, do you want to die? This is so not a healthy way to cope.” Burger dude stuck out his tongue at him.

 

“Shut up and take my money. This is a nice way to go, damnit.” Ryuji chuckled, waving him off.

 

“Whatever ya say, my dude.” he gave in, leaning against the side of the booth. “There’s no way you’re gonna finish _that-_ ” Ryuji gestured to the burger, “Big Boy Burger.” Burger dude shot him a look, one that Ryuji is slowly beginning to recognize as the “If You Tell Me I Can’t Do Something I Will, In Fact, Do It, Solely Out of Spite” face.

 

“...If I do it, will you let me use your psychology flashcards?” There was a predatory edge to burger dude’s voice, and Ryuji immediately gasped.

 

“You’re gonna get grease stains all over my cards!” he whined, nearly tearing up at the thought of smudges on his hard work. Burger dude refused to look away, practically holding Ryuji as gunpoint with a single stare.

 

“Coward.”

 

Ryuji pouted, crossing his arms. “Well, I don’t get anything out of it either way, soooo-”

 

“I’ll let you borrow all my study stuff. For twenty-four hours.” Now THAT was an offer Ryuji couldn’t refuse. Judging by the pure glee on burger dude’s face, he knew that as well.

 

“Fine then. Can’t wait to have pages of organized notes to study before my test tomorrow.” Ryuji grinned cheekily, patting burger dude’s shoulder sympathetically. Burger dude rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

 

“Can’t wait to grease stains all over your notecards.”

 

“You trashy bastard.”

 

Burger dude made a very unattractive snort in response, before, unprompted, diving into the burger with the grace of a sixty year old fortnite dancing. Ryuji couldn’t help but lean away at one point, making an equally unattractive face to compliment the horrid eating noises coming from burger dude. “Jesus christ man, you sound like a dying whale!”

 

Burger dude paused his voring to cackle, lowkey eyeing a piece of lettuce he accidentally spat out of his mouth. “You’d love to see me in school, then. I’m sure my friends would have a _lot_ to agree with you on.” Satisfied with his response, the noirette continued shoving the burger down his throat.

 

Ryuji nervously glanced back at the counter, grinning gratefully when the ponytailed girl he shared the graveyard shift tossed him an okay-hand back. Burger dude paused his eating again, rubbing some sauce off of his cheek with his sleeve. “That reminds me, actually,” he began, circling a ring of greasy hair around his finger. “I’ve said all this junk about my classes, but I’ve never really…” He gesticulated wildly at the ceiling before giving up. “... Asked you about yours.”

 

Ryuji shrugged. “There’s not really much to say about mine.” he replied honestly, scrunching his nose up as burger dude downed his water bottle in a go. Burger dude choked for a moment, beating his chest with his fist, before decidedly settling down.

 

“What about that uh… genius kid who tutors you or somethin’? You mentioned one, right?” Burger dude grunted, scratching his neck. “Or did I fever dream that…?” He shrugged, taking another chomp of his burger.

 

Ryuji turned a light pink, looking to the side of the restaurant. “N-No; I-I told you that.” he stuttered, shrinking back from burger dude’s curious stare. It was weird how defensive Ryuji suddenly felt over a simple look, but then again, burger dude’s gaze had something heavier to it. Something more… observant, and cautious. The noirette had never seemed more awake than in this moment.

 

Which was really unsettling.

 

“He’s…” Ryuji sighed. He wasn’t sure whether he was too tired to keep his mouth shut or too desperate to tell someone who wouldn’t make fun of him. Looking at the patient stare and the lettuce-covered glasses of the boy in front of him, Ryuji hesitated, but gave in. “He’s someone I admire… a lot. He’s just-he’s this complete and utter genius, and he’s also super confident in himself? No one liked him at all when he first transferred, and even now, he _still_ doesn’t seem to care. And, I-I wish I could be more like _that_ , y’know?” The two met eyes; brown eyes carefully taking each other in. “I had to quit track last year due to my stupid effin’ _coach_ , and after that, all these people who used to treat me friendly just. Stopped. Even though I acted like I didn’t care, I-I did. And that’s why I wanna be like him. I wanna be… confident enough in myself.” Ryuji slowly shook his head back and forth, unwilling to look back at burger dude. A bit of shame crawled under his skin, seeping into his veins, and guilt consumed him. “... I-I’m sorry; I totally overshared there and-”

 

“Sakamoto.” Ryuji stiffened. “Sakamoto. Hey, man, it’s okay, alright?” Ryuji reluctantly looked up at burger dude, and was pleasantly surprised to find nothing but understanding in his eyes. “If there’s anything I know well, it’s how shitty adults can be. And, trust me when I say this, confidence isn’t something that people just… have. It’s not like something you get. It’s something that slowly comes to you. And it takes _ages_ to learn it. People are always gonna push you down. Being confident around them isn’t what matters. It’s…” Burger dude pursed his lips, frowning. “It’s having the will to keep on doing what you do.”

 

Ryuji gazed at him for a moment, silently soaking in his words. It definitely wasn’t a one-of-a-kind inspirational speech but… he felt better. Ryuji offered burger dude a lopsided smile. “You talk as if you’ve been alive for years, dude.” he teased. “Am I sure you’re not secretly an eighty year-old man?” Burger dude’s face took not even a split-second to twist into a shocked countenance of complete and utter betrayal.

 

“I pass onto you my words of wisdom and you repay me with _this!?”_ he seethed, slapping his hand over his chest. “How can you just insult my god-given _beauty!?”_

 

“You do realize you still have sequins on your face and like. Lettuce in your hair, right?”

 

Burger dude slapped his hands to his face, wheezing when sequins fell off of it. “I trusted you God and you _betrayed me_.” he whispered under his breath.

 

Ryuji, reluctantly finding himself doing this more and more around burger dude, once more let out his hyena laugh, painfully wheezing and burger dude’s sullen expression. “Doesn’t seem like god really likes ya, huh?” he teased, pointing at the fallen sequins littered on the table.

 

Burger dude pouted at Ryuji, before looking down at his food tray and suddenly grinning. “Or so you _thought_.” he exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. “Guess who finished the unfinishable!” Ryuji whipped his head down to the food tray, distraught to find that burger dude had, in fact, finished the entire burger. “Well, once I take my one hour victory nap, I’ll be happy to receive your wonderfully clean psychology notecards!” Burger dude smiled at him, and despite how much Ryuji wanted to cry and mourn the future loss of his wonderful, not-greasy notes, a bet’s a bet.

 

And no one could technically stop Ryuji from looping shitty music inside the restaurant for the next hour. Especially not a greasy, notecard-ruiner.

 

* * *

 

“RYUJI HOLY SHIT!” Ryuji nearly leaped out of his seat as Ann slammed her fists on his desk, clearly out of breath.

 

“Yo, A-Ann, you okay, or-”

 

“SOMEONE BUSTED KAMOSHIDA!” Ann yelled, panting heavily. Ryuji went dead silent, staring at her in disbelief.

 

“... Someone… S-Someone got…?” Ryuji whispered, his voice cracking. Ann nodded her head quickly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

 

“I-I don’t know who did it, but he’s gone. Th-There was an email about it just now, a-and the principal is gonna make a statement on i-it, a-and, god, Ryu, he’s finally _gone!”_ Ann sobbed, throwing her arms around Ryuji and hugging him tightly. The two embraced each other, quietly crying as they felt the weight lifted off their shoulders for the first time in _ages_. Almost half of the class was staring at them, judgement and curiosity barely even hidden in their eyes, but the two couldn’t even bring themselves to care.

 

Ryuji, however, did bring himself to notice as Amamiya and Yuuki entered the room. Yuuki was tightly latched onto Amamiya’s arm, and the latter was rubbing soothing circles into his shoulder. The two quickly sat down, shoving their desks close together without hesitation to resume their attachment, talking to each other in hushed voices and clipped sentences. Ryuji felt Ann slowly lift her head up, turning to see what Ryuji was looking at, and the two found themselves merely observing the other duo.

 

Amamiya noticed pretty quickly that they were being watched, and he glanced over at Ann and Ryuji. Amamiya seemed to hesitate over something, but Yuuki whispered a few harsh words to him, slapping his shoulder gently. Amamiya looked slightly embarrassed, whispering back to him, and Yuuki sniffed, quickly rubbing at his eyes, before abruptly standing up and dragging Amamiya and himself over to Ryuji and Ann.

 

Yuuki faltered for a moment, once actually in front of the two, but took a deep breath. It was the most determined Ryuji had ever seen him. “Takamaki, is… Is Suzui okay?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Amamiya squeezed his hand gently, silently supporting him.

 

Ann looked down at her shoes, a rare, timid habit of hers. “She’s, um… Shiho hasn’t. Woken up. Not yet.” Her words were short and emotionless, a far cry from the fiery and passionate girl that Ryuji knew her to be.

 

Amamiya frowned, biting his lip. “Suzui was a very kind person.” he murmured apologetically, and if Ryuji was focusing hard enough, it almost seemed somewhat _bitter_. “I… I wish I had… I wish Kamoshida had been found out sooner.” Yuuki frowned, clutching Amamiya’s hand tightly.

 

“Getting e-evidence on him wasn’t easy, okay? We all did the best we could in that situation. A-And Suzui… “

 

Ann sniffed, hugging herself tightly. “Shiho didn’t deserve it. But it’s what happened. And it was her choice to do it.” she forced out, words colder than ice. It melted, however, and Ann smiled gratefully. “But it’s done. It’s all over now. And she’ll wake up. S-Soon.”

 

Ryuji suddenly noticed Amamiya’s gaze lingering on him. Why did he even seem to feel so guilty? He hadn’t even been involved with Kamoshida. There was no need to feel _anything_.

 

Amamiya swallowed, nervously twisting the ends of his hair. “I’m sorry to you too, Sakamoto.” he apologized, slightly bowing his head. “None of you deserved what he did. I’m also sorry about your, u-uh, le…” His voice trailed off, and he closed his mouth, looking to the side. “I’m sorry.”

 

Ann’s playfulness slowly seeped back into her, filling her face with joy as she grinned. “Well, Amamiya; aren’t you quite shy?” she teased. Amamiya flushed, laughing under his breath.

 

“Comes with the transfer student package.” he decided, shrugging.

 

Yuuki scowled. “Ren, you’re like, the complete and utter opposite of shy!” he groaned, seemingly exasperated.

 

Ryuji faux-gasped. “I dunno, Yuuki; that’s a pretty bold claim to make…” he teases, laughing at Yuuki’s offended face.

 

Amamiya booped Yuuki on the nose. “Don’t you _dare_ out me like this.” he threatened, giggling when Yuuki scrunched his nose up.

 

Ann suddenly clapped her hands together. “That reminds me! Amamiya, you’re like, a _total_ genius, sooo _would you mind if you sent us your notes?_ ”

 

Amamiya gave her a lopsided smile. “I’m not that smart, but I don’t mind sharing my notes. I get to use my friend’s flashcards tonight anyways.”

 

Ann and Ryuji clapped each other’s hands loudly, whooping in delight. “Oh, _eff_ yeah!” Ryuji cheered.

 

Ann pulled out her phone. “Here, what’s your discord username? You have discord, right?”

 

Amamiya nodded, pulling out his own phone. Yuuki let out an embarrassed sigh. “Uh… Would you guys mind adding me to the dm as well? My notes are-”

 

“Nonexistent.” Amamiya whispered, giggling when Yuuki elbowed him.

 

“This is why I don’t tell you anything!” Yuuki cried, his voice cracking.

 

Ann cackled, wiping away imaginary tears from her eyes. “You can be added, Yuuki; we don’t mind.” Yuuki let out a sigh of relief, pulling out his phone to match the others.

 

Ryuji whistled. “Not gonna lie, Yuuki; I lowkey thought you’d have, like, a Nokia or something.” he admitted.

 

Yuuki awkwardly laughed. “Well, I have the best of everything when it comes to electronics but past that… not so much.”

 

Ann nodded sympathetically. “Nice things? In _this_ economy? I think _not!”_

 

Amamiya’s boisterous laugh was loud and clear, even from behind his hand, and once again, Ryuji found himself utterly smitten.

 

* * *

 

“... So instead of saying literally, I dunno, _anything_ , in front of cute boy, you just. Insulted his friend.” Burger dude dryly stated, taking a long swig of his water bottle. Ryuji groaned, wailing into his hands.

 

“I was like, already really emotional, okay!? I’m already dysfunctional around attractive people, but whenever I’m around _him_ I just. Short circuit!”

 

Burger dude stared at him from across the table, unimpressed. “Hit or miss, guess they never miss huh?”

 

Ryuji glared at him. “Don’t you meme at me! This is _serious!”_ Burger dude chuckled, grimacing when he choked on his drink for a moment.

 

“Okay then, seriously, you have to be more assertive with your flirting. Well. Not assertive. Obvious! That’s the word. Now may I please have my burger.”

 

Ryuji paled. “Ah. Shit. Forgot about that.” He quickly scurried off, pulling together burger dude’s Cosmo Tower Burger. God, the noirette was gonna die at forty or something with how often he ate fast food.

 

Ryuji made sure to voice that thought when he plopped burger dude’s tray down in front of him. Burger dude, in turn, calmly flipped him off and told him that if it wasn’t for him, Ryuji would have literally no tips. Ryuji evoked his right to remain silent. Burger chose this moment as the perfect time to scarf down his humongous burger, and Ryuji merely sighed, by this point used to his horrific eating.

 

“Dude, you are such a mess...” he muttered, suddenly eyeing burger dude’s notebook. “Also, do you needa keep that binder? ‘Cause those notes are like, so good it’s sexy.” Burger dude choked on his meal, laughing uncontrollably at that.

 

“They aren’t even technically mine. They’re hand-me-downs.”

 

Ryuji looked at him, shocked. “Wait, what the eff? Dude, I’ve like. Oh my God.” Ryuji held his hand his hands, mindblown. “ _Oh my God. I never even considered that.”_ he whispered.

 

Burger dude licked off his fingers, sighing contentedly. “Most people don’t, if that makes you feel better.”

 

Ryuji scoffed. “So then I just fall under the general consensus?” he grumbled, pulling the notebook in front of him to cram study.

 

Burger dude nodded. “ _Yup._ Sucks to be a normie, huh?” he teased, laughing at Ryuji’s glare. He then hacked out a piece of lettuce. Gross.

 

“... Actually, dontcha have a test tomorrow?” Ryuji asked, surprised to see the burger dude pull out a book and begin writing notes from it.

 

“Already studied for it. I need to take notes for my friend.” Burger dude shrugged. “He sucks ass at taking notes. And we do, like-” Burger dude paused, taking another humongous bite of his meal. “-Study sessions. On Fridays.” He spoke while chewing, leavin Ryuji unimpressed.

 

“You? Tutoring someone? I find that hard to believe.” he stated, poking burger dude in the chest. “You look like a guy who has a D in every class.”

 

Burger dude gasped, smacking Ryuji’s finger away. “Fuck you! I have an A in every class!” he shrieked, offended. “You _wish_ you could be like me!” The noirette pouted bitterly, sinking down into his seat.

 

Ryuji wheezed, flipping the page of the notebook. The obvious organization of the page was the sexiest anything related to school could be. “Dude, no way!” he jeered. “You’re like, the _opposite_ spectrum of my crush. _He’s_ the one I wanna be like.”

 

Burger dude scoffed. “This guy sounds like a tool.” he grumbled. “You could totally do better.”

 

Ryuji made an affronted face. “Like what? _You?_ ” he asked, incredulous. Burger dude doubled over, slamming his fist on the table. He laughed so hard he accidentally spat a piece of lettuce onto Ryuji, who picked it off and shoved it into the greasy strands of burger dude’s hair.

 

“Have you _seen_ me!?” Burger dude cried, smacking his chest. “Do I _look_ like a guy who’s got his life together?”

 

Ryuji eyed the ketchup that had somehow gotten smeared on his ear. “You look like a heathen with ketchup on his ear.” Burger dude grinned. “Use some wipes you uncultured swine.”

 

“Don’t have any.”

 

Ryuji stalked off from the table, grabbing a bag of wet wipes from under the counter and chucking it at burger dude’s face. It smacked him on the cheek, nearly knocking off his glasses. The noirette fumbled with the wipes for a moment, managing to pull one out by the time Ryuji got himself comfortable on the other side of the booth. “It’s on ya right ear. N-No, not _my_ right, your right- there ya go!” Ryuji clapped. “Congratulations! You’ve learned basic hygiene!”

 

Burger dude stuck out his tongue. “Screw you, I take good care of myself!” he whined, wiping off his mouth.

 

“Uh-huh. _Sureee_ you do.” Ryuji nodded sagely. Burger dude flipped him off.

 

“You’re just blind to my endless sexiness!” Burger dude sniffed, sticking out his tongue at Ryuji.

 

Ryuji laughed, watching as burger dude almost finished devouring his burger. He had a solid five minutes left to complete the Cosmo Tower Burger challenge, and there was no doubt that the noirette and his grubby, food-devouring hands would finish it within seconds.

 

“Yo, burger dude?”

 

Burger dude raised an eyebrow questioningly, chomping away. Ryuji crossed his legs, resting his chin on his hands. “Why do you even come here and eat burgers all the time, anyways? Like, ya hardly even study halfa’ the time, ya just eat the biggest meat pile possible and go into a food coma!”

 

Burger dude’s mouth was stuffed full to the brim, and he looked absolutely unprepared to answer that question. He chewed slowly, seemingly thinking over it, before gesturing lamely to what little of the burger he had left. He swallowed whatever the hell was in his mouth down, letting out a quiet burp. “Hongry.”

 

Ryuji smacked the table, cackling. “I dunno what else I expected!” he shrugged, sighing contentedly. He folded his arms back behind his head, shrinking into the couch.

 

Burger dude eyed him from under his tangled hair. “... You look awfully relaxed tonight.” he observed, eyes flickering back down to his notes.

 

Ryuji nodded happily. “I finally got a new job that doesn’t have a nightmare shift, so today’s my last day!” he excitedly answered, happiness buzzing under his skin. That bliss simmered down, however, when he saw the sudden flash of hurt on burger dude’s face.

 

“What’s wrong, man?” he asked, frowning.

 

Burger dude sighed, scrunching up his shoulders. “... It’s nothing.” he mumbled, very pointedly keeping his eyes on his notes.

 

Ryuji knew bullshit when he saw it. However, he also knew when someone was too uncomfortable to say anything. So he let it sit. “... Which leads me into another point. D’ya have a discord? I wanna keep talkin’ to ya after I’m gone, yaknow?” he asked, pulling out his phone.

 

Burger dude paused, looking up from his notebook. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, before cautiously pulling his phone out of his hoodie pocket. “What’s your user?” he asked. Ryuji showed him his profile, and burger dude stared at it for a moment, before nodding. “Aight. Thanks.”

 

Ryuji’s phone buzzed as a small red bubble popped up in the corner of his screen. “...Neverjudgeapersons tasteinhentai#1666 has sent you a friend request…?” he wheezed, looking back up at burger dude.

 

Burger dude flushed. “I have an alt account, y’know!” he cried, embarrassed. “Just… I’m more active on. This one. And yours isn’t that much better!”

 

Ryuji snorted. “Better than yours!”

 

The two spent the rest of his shift bickering, and as Ryuji waved goodbye to burger boy for the last time, he couldn’t ignore the small twinge in his heart he felt watching his retreating figure.

 

Whatever. At least it wouldn’t be the last time they talked.

 

* * *

 

Ryuji slapped a hand over his mouth to cover his yawn, unwilling to get in even more trouble with his teachers today. He had already pushed his luck in precalculus; he sure as _hell_ wasn’t gonna screw around anymore.

 

Past that, he _definitely_ had another reason to stay awake. He and Amamiya had gotten assigned to outline the entirety of chapter eight in their psychology class; something about conditioning and Pavlov’s dogs or whatever. It was kind of cool, but at the same time, the outline was due tomorrow the moment class started, and their teacher was unwilling to allow them more time. Some bull about “postponing the schedule” and “being farther behind in the curriculum.” The entire class knew they wouldn’t even complete the curriculum anyways, so who cared if they pushed something a day behind? Mr. Megami _apparently_.

 

Ryuji fought back another yawn, struggling to keep his eyes awake. He had accidentally spent the night prior ranting to burger dude about Amamiya and school, and look where he was now. Then again, even if Ryuji had known in advance about the project, he honestly would’ve stayed awake anyways.

 

Ryuji then smiled, almost grateful for the project despite his fatigue. He got to work with _Amamiya_ of all people! Nevermind the fact that he had the most painfully obvious crush on him, the guy was a straight _genius_ . Their Friday study sessions had drilled that into Ryuji’s head, and if that hadn’t, Ryuji’s grades raising sure as hell would’ve. Amamiya always waved off those comments, claiming he also stayed up late and didn’t understand certain subjects, but Ryuji took that with a grain of salt. There was only one thing Amamiya Ren was bad at, and that was pacing himself, which Ryuji joyously found out about when the two had to sprint to Leblanc due to a sudden downpour. The poor guy nearly _collapsed_ on the counter, panting like a dog.

 

Ryuji hasn’t let it go since. Burger dude found it pretty funny when he told him too.

 

Ryuji suddenly realized he had zoned out when Amamiya’s eyes blinked at him. He flushed, quickly turning his head to the side, trying and failing to look casual. He could feel Amamiya searching him, boring holes into his head with his gaze. Ryuji almost melted into a puddle when Amamiya finally looked away, correctly answering one of the teacher’s questions. His cheeks burned when Ann giggled quietly, obviously laughing at him. “ _Gayyy~”_ she whispered, unfortunately missing Ryuji’s middle finger.

 

The bell rang, and Ryuji whooped in delight, ignoring his psychology teacher’s glare. Screw that guy anyways.

 

Ann made a very unattractive high-pitched noise, sliding around in her seat and jabbing Ryuji in the stomach. Ignoring his protests to stop, she leaned into his face, a smug grin stretching across her own. “ _You’re going on a date with Amamiya~_ ” she whispered, delightedly pinching his cheeks.

 

Ryuji swatted her fingers away, scowling. “It’s not a _date!_ ” he quietly hissed, grateful to see Amamiya distracted by Yuuki in the corner of the room. _Good. Keep him away from Ann._

 

Ann pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re no fun…” she muttered indignantly. Ryuji sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“Dude, we like, have a study session every Friday! This ain’t _anythin’!”_ Ryuji groaned, a bitter hint to his voice. Ann frowned sympathetically, patting his shoulder.

 

“Just make a move or something!” she offered, splaying her arms out.

 

“I already have!” Ryuji cried.

 

Ann made a face. “Like how?” she questioned, unbelieving.

 

Ryuji looked to the side, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Ann, I’ve done _everything!_ I’ve put my arm around him, I’ve sat next to him, I’ve blatantly flirted with him- _hell,_ I literally called him hot the other day and he just flipped me an ok hand!” he whined, throwing his hands in the air. “Tell me what I’m doing wrong!”

 

Ann grimaced. “He’s either got the awareness of a ceramic plate, or he’s just not into you.” she decided, sympathetically patting his shoulder. “You should just ask him out and hope for the best at this point.”

 

Ryuji shot her a look. “Do I _look_ like I have the guts to do that!?” he hissed, flapping his hands at his face.

 

Ann smushed his cheeks together with her hands, hushing him. “You have the guts to do whatever the hell you want to do.” she aggressively whispered, pressing even harder on his face when he tried to make a complaint. Allowing it to sink in, she finally let go, slapping him painfully on the back. “Now go get ‘em, tiger!” she cheered, shooting him finger guns and a wink. Ryuji felt even less encouraged to do anything now, but he forced himself to nod, pleasing Ann.

 

Ann pulled out her phone to check the time. “Shiho wanted me to come to her physical therapy today, and then we’re spending the night together, so I unfortunately cannot support you on your endeavor.” she apologized. Ryuji waved her off.

 

“I’d rather you and Shiho have fun, honestly,” he admitted. “Remember to tell her I say hi!” Ann nodded, grinning.

 

“See ya tomorrow!” she called, strolling out of the classroom. Ryuji sighed once she was out of sight, rubbing his eyes. He was gonna have to take a real strong power nap before he went over to Leblanc.

 

Ryuji’s phone vibrated against in his pocket, and he rummaged through it, pulling out his phone and looking at the lock screen. Ann had texted him. “And have fun tonight~ ;)” it read.

 

Ryuji groaned, shutting his phone and stuffing it back into the abyss. He was _not_ looking forward to tonight.

 

* * *

 

Or so he thought.

 

Ryuji was thrumming with eager anticipation as his opened the door to Leblanc, nodding his head at Boss. The man sighed from behind the counter, opening up a newspaper. “He’s upstairs.” Boss muttered, eyes scrawling over the words on the page.

 

“Thanks!” Ryuji called, forcing himself to calmly walk over to the stairs, before bounding up the steps. “Yo, dude; sorry for taking so long!” he apologized, unsurprised to find Amamiya bent over at his desk. Amamiya glanced up at him, startled. Ryuji narrowed his eyes, intently staring at whatever the hell was in his hands.

 

“... Whatcha got there, buddy?” he asked, growing slightly suspicious when Amamiya shoved the thing in question into a drawer, locking it shut.

 

Amamiya went quiet for a few moments, wilting in his seat. “... A… toy?” he offered, quietly standing up. He faltered under Ryuji’s unimpressed countenance.

 

“...It’s, a-uh. Lockpick.” Amamiya finally answered, walking over to his shelves to take his psychology book off of it. Ryuji trailed after him, making sure to not get into the noirette’s personal space.

 

“... And why’d’ya need a lockpick?” Ryuji pressed him gently. “Y’ain’t gonna steal anythin’... are ya?”

 

Amamiya nearly dropped his book. “N-No! Not at all!” he exclaimed, frowning. “It’s… “ Amamiya sighed, leaning his head to the side. “I used it to get into Kamoshida’s office a while back. For evidence. It was the last thing Mishima and I needed against him and…” Amamiya hung his head, sighing. “Even though it’s all said and done, I still feel like I need some. Just in case.” he admitted, finally looking Ryuji in the eye. Ryuji was flabbergasted, to put it lightly.

 

“You… were the one who busted Kamoshida…?” he asked, unwilling to acknowledge the way his voice cracked.

 

Amamiya grimaced. “Mishima and Makoto put it together. I just retrieved physical copies of stuff.” he corrected, setting down on his bed and pulling out his laptop.

 

Ryuji weakly walked over to the couch, plopping down on its springy cushions. _Even Nijima helped out? Miss goody two shoes Nijima?_ “Wha… Why didn’t you guys tell anyone?!” he cried, throwing his hands out. Amamiya didn’t seem surprised by his question. “You guys woulda been hailed as _heroes!_ The media woulda loved ya! Hell, the school woulda loved ya!” Ryuji waved his arms wildly, staring at the noirette in disbelief.

 

Amamiya flipped open the book, tapping on the page it landed on. “... We didn’t stop him for fame,” Amamiya appeared to be choosing his words carefully, often opening his mouth and closing it between words. “Both Makoto and Mishima had discouraged me from doing anything at first, actually. So I didn’t. But a friend of mine…” Amamiya’s voice turned undoubtedly fond, and Ryuji could feel his heart rip in two. Whoever the hell this “friend” was, they were one lucky bastard to be able to cause that smile on Amamiya’s face. “He was hurt by him. Badly. And I thought to myself, ‘How many more people are going to be hurt like this? How long will this man run rampant?’” Amamiya’s face twisted into bitter discontempt. “How many more adults are going to ruin innocent people’s lives?” he whispered. Ryuji only then noticed how aggressively Amamiya was twirling a pen in his fingers. “Horrible adults were the reason I was sent out here. They should also be the reason why I try to change the way things are. You know?” Amamiya offered Ryuji a lopsided smile, shrugging. “Someone needs to do it. May as well do it myself.”

 

Ryuji, at a loss for words, couldn’t bring himself to look at the boy across from him. His earlier jealousy had settled into guilt and shame. “... I won’t stop ya then.” Ryuji decided, clenching his fists. “If ya ever need a hand with that, I’ll be there to help ya, okay?”

 

Amamiya nodded with an elated grin, the two giving each other a high five. Ryuji refused to let himself linger on the feeling of the noirette’s soft hand against his own. “As grateful as I am, I think we should finish our outline before we plan out any world-changing schemes.” Amamiya changed the conversation, and Ryuji, despite his reluctance to work, felt energized by the happiness radiating from the other.

 

“Fair enough!”

 

* * *

 

That earlier motivation was nice while it lasted. By one A.M., however, the two boys were completely exhausted.

 

Ryuji had genuinely thought that Amamiya was as nonchalant as could be, but after the boy had gone downstairs to wash off his face, Ryuji suddenly noticed the bags under his eyes. He had pestered Amamiya about it for a bit, and the student finally admitted he used concealer to take care of it. It was a mind-blowing to Ryuji, yet he managed to shut his mouth and keep on working, despite the numerous questions at the top of his tongue. Ryuji’s concentration was practically nonexistent by that point, and it was that little detail that caused Ryuji to start focusing on Amamiya significantly more than any normal person should.

Something about his classmate felt _eerily_ familiar for some reason, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. With every passing minute, he felt like he was coming closer to some big revelation, yet he _still_ couldn’t realize what. When Amamiya put on a pair of sweatpants, Ryuji immediately felt more casual around him, and even more disturbingly so when he noticed a few holes and ketchup stains splattered on them. The noirette kept running his hands through his hair in frustration, turning what used to be a fashionably messy head of hair into something resembling an _awfully familiar_ rat’s nest. It felt so normal when it shouldn’t be, and Ryuji was so genuinely frustrated he was _seconds_ away from tearing out his goddamn hair.

 

Ryuji was honestly trying his best to work, but his mind was so distracted he just couldn’t restrain himself anymore. “H-Hey… Amamiya...?” he gritted out, nervously rubbing his hands together. “Have we… met before?”

 

Amamiya paused his typing, leaving the attic in an uncomfortable silence. Amamiya’s eyes were glued to the screen, reading what he had just written. “... Why do you ask?” he bit back, sounded equally wary and tired. Ryuji grunted, displeased.

 

“Nothin’. Let’s just finish this.” he mumbled. Ryuji wasn’t even frustrated with Amamiya; the blonde was just so bothered by this horrendous deja vu that he was losing what little patience he had in the first place. He felt bad for his stiff behavior, because the next half hour of work was equally as uncomfortable. Amamiya stayed defensive for some reason that was incomprehensible to Ryuji, and Ryuji remained equally irritated by his confusion.

 

By two A.M., Amamiya had had enough.

 

The noirette threw his hand in his hands, a tiny moan escaping him. “I… I’m sorry. My eyes just hurt from keeping my contacts in so long.” the noirette apologized, _still_ not looking Ryuji in the eye.

 

Ryuji stilled, carefully keeping his eyes on the document. “... You can take ‘em out if it hurts that bad.” Ryuji said, tapping his pencil against the book. Amamiya hesitated, unwilling to change, but he reluctantly pulled himself off of the bed, making his way down the steps. There was a growing pit of _something_ in Ryuji’s stomach, something that put him on guard. He refused to stop working, however, and kept his eyes glued to the page, even when Amamiya quietly made it back up the stairs. Ryuji could feel the mattress dip under the sudden weight.

 

Everything in Ryuji’s gut was _screaming_ at him to keep his eyes down, to do absolutely _everything_ but look at Amamiya. Ryuji bent to its will, becoming increasing unsettled. The air between them become even more exhausted, more tense, more _unbearable_ with each passing second. It was suffocating him, and Ryuji could feel his will breaking under the weight. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could continue listening to his gut, and after a few more seconds, Ryuji decided that he had _had it._

 

Ryuji’s head snapped up, ready to confront Amamiya about whatever the hell was going on between them, but the sight before made his stomach lurch.

 

_What the fucking hell._

 

_How had he not realized?_

 

Ryuji drowned in the sight of Amamiya in front of him. Amamiya, with his unconcealed eye bags. Amamiya, with his careless habit of biting the cap of his pen. Amamiya, and his stupid, messy clothes. Amamiya with that same, determined expression he’s seen so many times before. He was supposed to be _just_ Amamiya, but Ryuji’s eyes honed in on a small speck on the frames of Amamiya’s smudged glasses. The recognizing that tiny bit of lettuce _anywhere_.

 

“HOW THE FUCK DIDN’T I RECOGNIZE YOU WITHOUT SHITTY LETTUCE OVER YOUR GLASSES?” Ryuji blurted out, jumping off of the bed. “H-HOW- WHAT KIND OF SAILOR MOON BULLSHIT _IS THIS!?”_

 

Amamiya didn’t even flinch at his outburst. The boy silently slid his face into his hands, muttering incomprehensible words under his breath.

 

Amamiya slowly lifted his head off of his hands, the image Ryuji has created under his name shattering to pieces. Amamiya’s gaze was nothing but _exhaustion_ ; of sleepless nights, of resigned acceptance, of _shame._ “Look, _Sailor Moon_ , I’m glad you finally realized who I am or whatever, but if you try to do this right now I will literally have a mental breakdown and we will _fail_.”

 

Ryuji’s jaw dropped open. “ _Dude, I can literally only focus on one thing right now, and this?”_ Ryuji gesticulated wildly at the room around them, head swirling. “ _This is it!”_

 

Amamiya turned his head back to the computer, sighing. “Put aside your revelations until _after_ we finish editing this twenty-page outline. Please, just postpone your breakdowns until _after_ the due date, _thanks._ ”

 

Ryuji numbly sat back down, sliding his laptop over to him. “Well it’s not like my entire _worldview_ is shattering or anythin’,” Ryuji muttered to himself, “But go off I guess!”

 

* * *

 

 

That snide remark ended up being the last thing Ryuji said to him for the next three weeks.

  


The two had spent the rest of the morning busting their asses to finish the outline. Ryuji unfortunately hadn’t been as productive as Amamiya, however, and for good reason. Every few seconds or so the blonde simply couldn’t stop himself from staring at Amamiya, at burger dude, at _him_ in disbelief. That entire day, Ryuji had felt completely and utterly off of his game. He wanted _answers_ , he wanted to _tease_ him, he was having a goddamn _crisis_ and Amamiya wouldn’t even look him in the eye! But Ryuji was also willing to be patient. He had seen the bags under Amamiya’s eyes, and could understand how Amamiya kept brushing him off the first day.

 

And then the second.

 

And then the third.

 

By the twenty-seventh, Ryuji was just about ready to throw hands with Amamiya.

 

One would think it’d be easy to hunt down someone you literally share a class with. _That wasn’t the case with this._ Amamiya had a freakishly ability to practically blend into the shadows, no matter how ready Ryuji was to hunt him down.

 

By the end of the month, Ryuji realized that Amamiya was equally ready to avoid him as Ryuji was to find him. And that was a _tad bit_ of a problem.

 

Ryuji knew straight off the bat that Nijima wouldn’t help him. Yuuki and Ryuji were acquaintances at best, and Ryuji was half-convinced that Yuuki would willingly give up his own life to protect Amamiya’s, so he was also out of the question.

 

Ryuji didn’t really know any friends of Amamiya past the obvious two, and even after racking his brain for people, they still ended up useless. Amamiya’s redhead friend couldn’t even look Ryuji in the eye. Boss sure as _hell_ wouldn’t let people into Amamiya’s room without the noirette’s obvious approval. There was also that pretty detective guy that came over sometimes, but after approaching him once, Ryuji had the feeing that the brunette would gut him if he tried to talk to him ever again.

 

Knowing all this, saying that Ryuji was pleasantly surprised to discover that Shiho and Amamiya were friends was an understatement.

 

Also knowing that Shiho offered to invite them both on the same day so that they could talk, saying that Ryuji cried a few tears of gratefulness wouldn’t be a lie.

 

However, staring down a bristled Amamiya across the hallway of the building right now, Ryuji wasn’t sure he was fully prepared to finally talk to him.

 

The two held eye contact for a very painfully long amount of time. Amamiya slowly blinked, eyes darting to the sides of the hallway, before returning to Ryuji’s. Without a second of hesitation, Amamiya split down the hallway, wordlessly fleeing. Ryuji yelped, taking off after him. “WAIT, DUDE! COME BACK!”

 

Ryuji nearly slipped as he turned the corner, allowing a second to mourn that he hadn’t worn his running shoes today. He arrived in time to watch Amamiya stop at the edge of the corridor, visibly panting even from Ryuji’s distance. “C’MON DUDE! I JUST WANNA TALK!” Ryuji yelled, exasperated. Amamiya nearly jumped at his voice, throwing a startled glance at him, before tearing down the next hall. Ryuji groaned, rubbing his face in his hands. “ _Damnit, man; I ain’t gonna kill ya…_ ” Ryuji grumbled bitterly, turning to look for an exit sign. He recognized the path Amamiya was taking, and unfortunately for the noirette, the blonde knew another exit.

 

If Amamiya was better at pacing himself, he honestly could’ve outrun Ryuji. But he didn’t, and Ryuji basically tackled Amamiya in his quest to stop him. The two hit the ground with a loud thud, Amamiya in particular taking most of the impact.

 

Amamiya groaned, rubbing his head. “Y-You speedy… bastard…” Amamiya panted, and Ryuji could practically see the lettuce glasses on his face. “If… you-you’re desperate enough to… to tackle me… I may as well listen… h-huh?” Amamiya muttered, reaching up to rub his eyes.

 

Ryuji’s shoulders heaved with relief, and, while he did stop menacingly pinning the noirette to the ground, the blonde straddled his hips, unwilling to let him escape again. Ryuji had a _lot_ to say, but for some reason, given the opportunity to actually _tell_ Amamiya what he wanted to, his mind went completely blank.

 

Ryuji grimaced, reluctantly meeting Amamiya’s cautious, yet curious, gaze. “So, like, uh… uh?” Ryuji’s voice cracked from stress, and he looked away, laughing nervously. He didn’t need to see Amamiya’s face to feel his incredulous gaze.

 

“You… You chased me down a freaking _hallway_ because you wanted to talk to me, _but you don’t even know what to say? Dude, what the fuck?”_ Amamiya wheezed, the humor of the situation suddenly obvious to him. Amamiya broke out in laughter, not even bothering to hide it behind his hand. Ryuji’s face flushed indignantly in response, more and more embarrassed with every passing moment.

 

“N-No _you! You what the fuck!_ ” Ryuji slapped his chest, almost screaming at the other. “How the hell do you look so nice when you eat like a- like a fucking _garbage disposal!?_ ”

 

Amamiya was in near-tears, close to heaving at that statement. Unable to help himself, Ryuji began laughing as well, tripping over his own  words. “Li-Like _dude!?_ Where do you even _put it!?”_ Ryuji cried, snorting at the end of it.

 

Amamiya cackled, wiping his eyes with his finger. “Y-You can’t get upset at me for being a hungry fool!” the boy declared, collapsing into a fit of giggles. “G-God, I’m sorry this is just s-so…” Amamiya waved his hands in the air. “Weird!”

 

Ryuji wheezed, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, man…” he finished, falling quiet. “Dude, if you’re _that_ hungry all the time, I can just, like. Cook for ya.”

 

Amamiya shrugged. “I can cook for myself too. It’s just… too much work.” he stated, wincing at Ryuji’s pointed look.

 

“If I still had any doubts about ya being burger dude, that sure as hell cleared ‘em up...” Ryuji muttered, crawling off of Amamiya and crossing his legs. “... Part of me is really happy you’re burger dude, actually.” Ryuji admitted, feeling uncomfortably vulnerable. “I missed seeing ya an your gross-ass hair at one A.M…” Ryuji trailed off, thinking for a moment. “And your weird-ass ketchup diagrams-”

 

“That was _one_ time, Ryuji-”

 

Ryuji shushed him, shooting him a small glare. “I missed ya a lot. But I put up with it. But then _you_ ignored me for an entire month! What the hell was that about, man!?” he accused.

 

Amamiya sighed in a resigned sort of depression. It made Ryuji feel just a tad bit guilty. “I was scared.” he responded, sitting up and pulling his legs into his chest. “I was worried you’d be mad that I wasn’t the ‘perfect guy’ you were crushing on.” His voice was quiet and bitter, and Ryuji groaned.

 

“ _God,_ ya knew I was crushin’ on ya the _whole damn time!”_ he moaned, blushing. Amamiya sent him a small glare.

 

“How do you think I felt?” Amamiya asked, shrinking in on himself despite the confidence in his voice. “Do you know how weird it is to feel jealous of _yourself?”_

 

Ryuji’s brows practically shot up to his hairline. “...Jealous?” the blonde breathed out, shocked.

 

The noirette scowled, looking down at the concrete. “Oh, I was _more_ than jealous-” he corrected, playing with his fingers. “God, I’m still pissed that you didn’t even know who I was! Is it really _that hard_ to tell?” In hindsight, Ryuji knew for a fact that it wasn’t. The blonde shook his head, guilt eating away at him.

 

“You only liked the shy me!” Amamiya exclaimed, tossing his hands in the air. “And even now you haven’t addressed that!” The noirette shot up to his feet, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Sakamoto, of _course_ I didn’t want to talk to you. Who would’ve done anything different?”

 

The two stared at each other, both obviously flustered, confused, and hurt. It was a tense and awkward silence, and it was only when Amamiya broke eye contact that Ryuji found the words to speak.

 

“I mean… I _was_ startled to find out who you really were,” Ryuji began, picking himself off of his feet. “A-And, I was a bit hurt ‘cause, yaknow, you didn’t tell me who ya were, or anythin’...” Ryuji balled up his fists, staring down nervously at his feet. _It’s now or never._

 

“I wasn’t… disappointed to realize you were burger dude. It-It made me, like, _really_ happy, honestly!” Ryuji blurted out, impulsively reaching out and grabbing Amamiya’s hands in his own. “Like, super _super super_ happy! Really!” Ryuji groaned, sinking down into a squat, reluctantly letting go of Amamiya’s hand. “ _God that was really effin’ gay…_ ” Ryuji grumbled, embarrassed. Amamiya took a solid minute to respond, leaving Ryuji an anxious mess.

 

“... Sakamoto?” Amamiya asked quietly.

 

Ryuji grunted. Amamiya repeated his name again, and Ryuji moaned, staring up at the sky. “Man, we know each other way too well to keep using each other’s last names by this point!” he groaned. “ _Please,_ just call me Ryuji, this is way too weird.” Amamiya went quiet again.

 

“Sure thing, Sakamoto.”

 

Ryuji’s jaw dropped open. “You _bitch!”_ he wailied in embarrassment, pouting at Amamiya’s burst of laughter.

 

“S-Sorry,” Amamiya cackled, clutching his stomach, “I j-just couldn’t help myself, Ryuji.”

 

Ryuji held up a hand at that, making a thoughtful face. Amamiya’s laughter quickly died down, the noirette looking at him curiously. “Is something wrong?”

 

“Ren. Say that again.” Ryuji commanded.

 

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Say what again?”

 

“My name.”

 

Ren flushed, grabbing his own arms. “R-Ryuji?” he repeated, and Ryuji sighed happily, putting a hand to his heart.

 

“Ya hear that shit, bro? Music to my ears.” Ren groaned, lightly slapping Ryuji on his head.

 

“That’s gay.” the noirette sniffed. Ryuji stuck his tongue back at him.

 

“I think we’ve established that I am, in fact, _gay._ ” Ryuji pointed out. “I did, like, confess to you a minute or so ago.”

 

Ren giggled quietly, grabbing Ryuji’s hand and pulling him back up to his feet. The noirette didn’t let go, however, instead squeezing Ryuji’s hand. “Hey, Ryuji?”

 

Ryuji looked up at him. “Yeah?” he asked, suddenly realizing how close together they were.

 

“Want to hear something kind of gay?” Ren asked. Ryuji couldn’t tell if Ren had leaned closer towards him or if he was just imagining things.

 

Ryuji shakily nodded. He _definitely_ wasn’t imaging Ren taking Ryuji’s other hand in his. Ren gently pulled Ryuji closer, bumping their foreheads together. The two stared at each other for moment, and Ryuji _definitely_ saw the pink shade to Ren’s cheeks. “Is it bad that I kinda want to kiss you right now?” Ren mumbled, gazing at Ryuji intently. Ryuji’s jaw dropped open, a splash of red coloring his face.

 

The two stared at each other for a minute longer, and Ryuji, without an ounce of hesitation, dipped Ren and kissed him on the lips, only pulling back when Ren swatted him. Ryuji cackled at Ren’s dazed and embarrassed face. “WARN ME BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!” Ren stammered, Ryuji graciously pulling Ren back up to his feet.

 

“Your surprised face is cute though!” Ryuji whined, getting a cheeky grin when he saw Ren’s flustered expression. “Yaknow, it’s like, _way_ easier to fluster ya then I thought it would be.” Ryuji remarked, tugging Ren back towards the entrance of the office.

 

Ren scoffed, fanning away the rest of his blush. “I could say the same to you!” he retorted, punching Ryuji’s arm with his free hand. Ryuji shrugged, neither denying nor confirming his statement.

 

“Well, we still have about an hour left of Shiho’s appointment,” Ren pointed out, looking at the time on his phone. Ryuji hummed thoughtfully, before suddenly sporting a mischievous grin.

 

“Ya wanna make out until she finishes her training?” Ryuji asked.

 

Ren squeezed his hand tightly, barking out a laugh. “I can’t think of anything better.” the noirette admitted, curling a strand of black hair around his finger. The two beamed at each other, suddenly falling into a pile of laughter.

 

The two were a strange sight- two lanky teenagers laughing behind the back of a physical therapy clinic- but the burger bros wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

**Author's Note:**

> i'm too tired to edit this so if there's any major errors pls tell me  
> i'll edit all this,,, eventually,,,  
> thank you for reading nonetheless!
> 
> feel free to talk to me about pegoryu on my tumblr


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